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Stop #14 — Fishing

Salmon fishing on the Columbia starts around May, when salmon typically surge upriver, and over Bonneville Dam. It closes at various times depending conditions and to allow for both sport and commercial fisheries. Oregon and Washington have various fishing zones throughout their states. Below is the Columbia River Zone.

In the spring, anglers may be allowed to keep one fin-clipped spring salmon per day from the river’s mouth to Bonneville Dam. Above the dam, sportfishing has different rules and times. Willamette River anglers will have no restrictions this spring beyond their daily limit of two fin-clipped Chinook. Smelt-dipping was allowed in the Cowlitz River in February and in the Sandy River in March.

Chinook Salmon are the largest Pacific salmon and return in the Spring. They are prized for their rich flavor. Coho Salmon, also called Silver Salmon, return in the Fall. Sockeye Salmon are often called Blueback. Both have a deep red color.

Sturgeon have a large body with bumpy scales. They are delicious but threatened species so they’re not generally available now. Albacore tuna are caught by hook and line off the Oregon coast.

Columbia River wild spring chinook are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act, and fishery managers set stringent catch limits on sport, tribal and nontribal commercial catches. The Lower Columbia River up to Bonneville Dam opens March 1 to April 10, 2015. In the fishery, anglers can keep only hatchery-marked spring chinook, which are identified by a clipped adipose fin located on top near the tail. There’s a daily limit of one hatchery-marked Spring chinook for the 2015 season. Barbless hooks are required, and wild unmarked salmon and steelhead must be released.

For fisheries management, the 292-mile stretch of the Columbia River is divided into six zones. Zones 1-5 are between the mouth of the river and Bonneville Dam, a distance of 145 miles. Zone 6 is an exclusive treaty Indian commercial fishing area.

The spring chinook fishery creates a frenzy beginning in February. Fishing in the lower river is often slow in February and March, and then ramps up nearing the closure date. The peak return occurs in April or early May.

The 2015 estimated return of 900,200 adult fall chinook ranks behind only the 2013 and 2014 returns on a record dating back to 1938. In 2014 the actual return was 1,159,000, second highest on record. The return was 1,268,400 adults in 2013, which was 227 percent of the 2003- 2012 average of 557,600 adults.

Coho adults are typically 3-year-old fish, and return to freshwater after only one year in the ocean. The early-stock coho enter the river from mid-August to early October, peaking in early September.

The reward program happens in the summer from May through Sept. 30 for fish measuring 9 inches or longer. The first 100 are worth $5 each with the price per fish topping a $8 each. They have to be turned in daily at one of the dozens of stations along the river, where you are given credit As an added incentive, specially tagged fish are worth $500.

Highest catch area is generally around The Dalles on the Columbia River with 10.3 for 2,723 anglers catching some 27,973 fish. Catches must be checked in at one of the 21 station each day. For details, call 800-858-9015 or visit www.pikeminnow.org.